As Charlestown’s Figs turns 30, Todd English reflects on highs, lows, and weed-infused macaroni and cheese
Todd English was Boston’s first celebrity chef: He opened Olives in 1989 and Figs in 1992, quickly becoming one of the city’s most charismatic culinary figures and putting Charlestown on the map. He was talented, handsome, and knew how to mingle.
Since then, he’s had plenty of ups and downs, openings and closings: a spot on People magazine’s “Most Beautiful” list, James Beard awards, a Bon Appétit nod as Restaurateur of the Year, lawsuits involving unpaid rent, headlines more focused on partying than food, a drunken driving arrest.
His flagship, Olives, closed years ago. Yet Figs endures, serving the simple pizzas and pastas that it did in 1992.
“I opened Figs so I had a place to take my kids to eat. When I was working in Italy, I was always in love with this little pizzeria, because all I could afford was to eat there when I had a night off. It was family-run, at the top of the hill, and they would make all their salami, and it was amazing. There was a wood-burning oven outside. I fell in love with that,” he says.
And English, who now primarily divides his time between Las Vegas and New York, endures, too. He maintains restaurants around the world. He has a namesake hotel in Vegas. He just launched LastLeaf, a cannabis-infused
line of mac and cheese. At 62, he’s contemplating an interactive food hall.
I caught up with him a week after Figs’ 30th birthday.
First, I have to ask: James Corden? Everybody hates this guy except you. Gawker quoted you as defending him! [Corden is in a very public spat with New York restaurateur and Instagram eminence Keith McNally over allegations of abusive behavior at celebritystudded Balthazar.]
They blew it up. They called me; they asked me out of the blue. I said, “I met him once. He seems like a nice guy.” That’s all I said. And then they blew it up like I’m his best buddy.
Let’s go back to the beginning. What drew you to Boston? Of all the cities to open a restaurant in, why here?
Well, I moved there in ’85 to open up Michela’s restaurant. So I got married, and we had kids, and it just seemed like ... I mean, Boston is a great town. And, from the standpoint of the food world, the food scene, I could just see there was an enormous amount of potential. And it was just beginning, in ’85. I mean, really, you think about it: Lydia Shire, Jasper White, Gordon Hamersley. Not a whole lot of others. Jimmy Burke was doing some really good stuff out in Waltham. Then I worked for a short while for [L’Espalier founder] Moncef Meddeb, and he was doing some really intense stuff. I mean, he was obviously French-trained, but I think he was Tunisian, and so he had sort of a North African twist on food. He did some really cool stuff.
I just ended up liking Boston. I love the European feel about Boston, and I’ve worked in Europe, and felt it was as close to a European city as you can get in the States.
What was your first food memory? Did you have a transformative moment when you decided: I have to become a chef?
There really wasn’t an aha moment. Growing up, I always had Italian roots from my grandmother, who made rabbit cacciatore in the fireplace, in a Dutch oven kind of thing. The most fond memory of food I have is the smell of olive oil, onions, anchovies, and garlic being in a pan. That aroma is so seductive to me.
You’ve had high-profile restaurants that succeeded. You’ve had high-profile restaurants that didn’t last. What is it about Figs? Why the longevity?
I think the consistency of the products, being the right fit for the neighborhood, and a very loyal clientele. Many people have come and gone from there, from general managers to waitstaff to cooks. My thing is always to be consistent in what you’re delivering, and I think that’s probably the key to it. And I think it’s food that is timeless, I guess. America loves Italian-esque food, and I don’t think that’s ever going anywhere.
How has the Boston restaurant scene changed?
I think it’s one of the top food cities in the country now, and I think it just continues to grow. I’m always excited to go and see what’s going on in Boston and try new places. Just the fact that I remember going to the waterfront when it was Anthony’s Pier 4 on a Sunday afternoon, getting the delicious popovers and a good bottle of wine, because they had a great wine selection there. That area has changed.
Where do you eat now? Who do you really admire in the Boston restaurant scene these days?
I love Barbara Lynch, who does great food. I love Lydia. I love Neptune Oyster with Jeff Nace. He used to work with me. I’m going to get in trouble here. I would say probably Neptune is my spot.
Is being a celebrity chef really all it’s cracked up to be? I feel like it might be taxing. And the nature of celebrity chef-dom has certainly changed over the years.
I can tell you the reasons that I like it. [October] is obviously breast cancer month, and I sold a dinner for $100,000 at an auction for breast cancer. My sister passed from breast cancer, so I had set up a charity for her. So, for me, I would say that’s something that I like the most.
Another part I like is just that it’s fun to share what I do and excite people who are foodies, so to speak.
Believe it or not, I’m actually shy by nature. And part of it is having to really put yourself out there.
Looking back on your career, is there a project that you really regret, something that didn’t work out, and a lesson that you learned from that?
Oh God. Yeah. I mean, I can’t say one in particular. I keep thinking, maybe there’s some magic formula for why a restaurant works and why it doesn’t. Some people say it’s location, location, location. Other people say it’s the quality of the food or the vibe or the buzz or the maitre d’ or the way that it’s perceived, or if it’s the right time, right place, the right food. So it’s very much like fashion. Things come and go. And I think that the classic tried-and-true things like blue jeans, and things that we always wear, are always going to be around and might just be presented in a different way. And this food is the same way.
I feel like I have a master’s degree in food, but I’m always studying for my PhD, in the sense that you never stop learning. I think travel is probably one of the most important parts of food. When I had my show “Food Trip,” you’d go into these little villages and you’d see one thing, and then that sparks other ideas.
Is weed-infused food the way of the future? You’re currently making infused mac-and-cheese.
I really got into it more for medicinal purposes. I would do food infused with it, and it seemed to help [my sister]. I was just looking for anything to try to help her out.
It has been around for as long as thousands of years, and it has always been known to be one of the really great holistic medicines. I also look at food that way. Food is our medicine, and we have to think about the things that we eat. That’s why I love Mediterranean diets so much.
Free association. How would you describe Boston as a food city in a few words?
Brilliantly educated.
New York.
New York is always savvy and enticing.
Vegas.
There is gambling, but it’s become one of the great food cities. Really almost every chef internationally, or a lot of chefs internationally, from Alain Ducasse to you name it, are there. It’s a fun and also very much a business town, because people do get a lot of business here.
‘I feel like I have a master’s degree in food, but I’m always studying for my PhD, in the sense that you never stop learning.’ TODD ENGLISH
Who’s the best chef working now?
I would definitely give it to Ferran Adrià or Alain Ducasse. Both are my buddies. Who has more Michelin stars than Alain Ducasse?
Last but not least: What’s your food vice?
Gosh, let’s see. It would have to be some sort of ice cream. I got into this phase where I was actually going to open up an ice cream shop in Boston. And so I got this little machine. So I’m always experimenting and making ice creams. There are so many new brands that I’m always trying, but usually an Italian gelato of some sort.